by Sajal Hossain DhalyBRAC University2026The purpose of this research is to discern whether Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise are “writing back” to the English and European colonial empires and their literary canons, specifically to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Foundational postcolonial literary theories from books and academic journals provide context to the efficacy of Rhys and Gurnah’s writing back: such as Edward Said’s Orientalism, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s idea of the Subaltern, and Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of mimicry. Furthermore, the research also relies on Chinua Achebe’s theory of abrogation and appropriation of the English language as a means of resistance and taking back agency by the colonised subjects. Upon assessing these books, book chapters, and articles, the research finds that Rhys and Gurnah are in fact not writing back to any colonial empire or writer; Rhys writes for a feminist Creole identity, and Gurnah writes to help establish the African literary tradition.
Bringing Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre to the stage is no easy feat, squeezing in all the twists and turns of the classic novel into something an audience can sit through in one evening.But Conn Artists Theatre Company's latest production at Theatre Royal Winchester offers an engaging retelling of one of literature's most enduring love stories.This adaptation remains faithful to the source material, following Jane's journey from an unhappy childhood to her employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the brooding and enigmatic Edward Rochester.The first half is a little slow-going as the production carefully establishes the characters and their relationships. While it takes time to build momentum, the groundwork pays off as the drama unfolds.After the interval, the pace quickens considerably, and the audience is drawn into a gothic tale packed with romance, secrets and heartbreak. Long-hidden truths emerge, relationships are tested, and emotions run high as the story races towards its dramatic conclusion.Evie Depledge delivers a convincing performance as Jane Eyre, capturing both the character's quiet determination and emotional strength. Ross Muir is equally compelling as Edward Rochester, bringing passion and intensity to the role while conveying the character's troubled past and inner conflict.The cast makes effective use of a relatively simple set, allowing the performances and storytelling to take centre stage. Atmospheric lighting and clever staging help create the moody gothic atmosphere that fans of the novel will recognise.The production reaches its peak during the fiery climax, with the drama surrounding Thornfield Hall providing some of the evening's most memorable moments. The final image of Jane and Rochester walking away together against the backdrop of a burning house is both striking and moving, bringing the story to a satisfying close.While the first half occasionally lacks urgency, the gripping second act more than makes up for it. With its mix of love, loss, twists and redemption, this production successfully brings a classic story to life for a modern audience. [...]For lovers of classic literature and period drama, this adaptation is well worth catching while it is on the road. (Kimberley Barber)
Dans son quatrième roman, Lilia Hassaine s’attaque à l’un des mythes de la littérature victorienne : Bertha Mason, l’épouse séquestrée d’Edward Rochester dans « Jane Eyre ». Un acte de réparation littéraire tout autant qu’une radioscopie de l’emprise conjugale.En 1847, Charlotte Brontë dessinait dans « Jane Eyre » les contours d’une créature terrifiante : la « folle du grenier ». Tapie dans l’ombre du manoir de Thornfield Hall, Bertha Mason incarnait l’obstacle à la romance de l’héroïne. Un siècle plus tard, en 1966, Jean Rhys accomplissait un premier geste d’affranchissement avec « La Prisonnière des Sargasses », en restituant son nom créole – Antoinette Cosway – et en retraçant son enfance jamaïcaine ainsi que son déracinement. Lilia Hassaine choisit, quant à elle, de s’immerger au cœur de la matrice du drame : la relation avec Rochester et la mécanique du dessaisissement de soi. Bien plus qu’une simple relecture d’un classique, « Je » offre une subtile analyse de l’emprise et du « gaslighting ». Le récit s’ouvre en Jamaïque, alors que l’esclavage touche à sa fin. Antoinette y croise d’abord le regard d’Edward Rochester. Lors d’un bal en 1831, une scène de séduction à la sensualité maîtrisée scelle le piège. Le futur maître de Thornfield lui offre une part de gâteau au citron : « J’ouvris les lèvres. N’opposais aucune résistance. Le glaçage fondit sur ma langue, sucré, acide, et pour la première fois je vis Edward, le visage nu, dépouillé de son masque sévère. »L’attirance des corps fait vite place à la jalousie, la possession, puis au mépris. Le premier meurtre est de nature symbolique. En rentrant en Angleterre, Rochester lui confisque son nom : « Le dépouillement patronymique constitue le premier acte d’effacement : en rebaptisant arbitrairement son épouse Bertha, le maître des lieux lui retire son ancrage créole pour la réduire au silence. » Rochester ne se contente pas d’enfermer son épouse : il détruit patiemment son assise identitaire. Le doute inoculé finit par dissoudre toute certitude intime.Lilia Hassaine montre avec une acuité toute contemporaine les ressorts de la manipulation mentale. Le véritable effroi ne provient pas tant de la séquestration physique que du silence complice de la communauté. De la haute société coloniale jusqu’à la domesticité anglaise, chacun observe, se tait et valide l’arbitraire sous couvert de préservation des convenances. La violence apparaît alors dans toute sa dimension systémique : elle repose sur l’indifférence collective. [...]Lilia Hassaine confirme son talent de romancière par sa calme maîtrise des phrases, tantôt doucement poétiques, tantôt couperets, comme mimétiques d’un étouffement progressif. Un roman qui se lit d’une traite, solidement structuré, fort et obsédant. Le lecteur, avide, est happé dans l’engrenage. L’une des grandes réussites de la rentrée qui devrait séduire autant le public que les jurés des prix littéraires. (Translation)
Saban Films released the first trailer for Wuthering Heights: House of the Damned on September 1, 2026, ahead of its October 16 VOD and digital debut — a horror adaptation that strips Emily Brontë's 1847 novel of all romantic ambiguity and replaces it with a literal agenda: ritual murder, a ghost that hungers for a living body, and a visitor who slowly loses his mind. The film arrives in a specific scientific moment. A peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience in April 2026 confirmed that infrasound — sound below human hearing — raises cortisol levels and shifts mood, offering a plausible psychoacoustic mechanism for exactly the kind of environmental deterioration the film dramatizes. Meanwhile, the State of Brain Emulation Report 2025 concluded that the question of whether consciousness can survive substrate transfer — whether a person can truly migrate from one body to another — remains unanswered, with a minimum of thirty to forty years of research still needed. Gothic horror has always been the cultural form we use to hold open questions that philosophy and science haven't closed. In 2026, the specific questions House of the Damned dramatizes are being asked in actual laboratories, and the answers are not in yet. (...)Wuthering Heights: House of the Damned is the first entry in a planned slate of literary horror adaptations called "Gowns and Gore," produced by ScaryContent at the 2025 AFM (Munich/Los Angeles) and distributed by Saban Films. Director Becca Hirani — also credited as Rebecca J. Matthews — and screenwriter Liana Failla keep the novel's skeleton but literalize everything Brontë left ambiguous. In Brontë's original, Catherine's ghost appears to Lockwood in Chapter 3, her child-hand clawing at the frosted window — a single unnerving scene that the novel never fully explains. In Hirani's version, that ambiguity becomes an engine. Catherine's ghost is not incidental to the story; she is its driving force, and Heathcliff is her instrument.Can Consciousness Migrate? Gothic Horror's Central Question Is Now a Research ProgramHeathcliff is not mourning Catherine. He is running what the film's synopsis describes as a deliberate operation: feeding her ghost enough "bloodlust" through human sacrifice to accumulate the force necessary for her to occupy Lockwood's living body. This is soul transference treated as a directed technical project — with a goal, a method, and a willing technician.The question of whether consciousness can transfer between substrates is among the most actively contested in contemporary neuroscience. The State of Brain Emulation Report 2025, authored by Zanichelli et al. and released on arXiv (2510.15745), assessed twenty years of progress in three areas — neural recording, brain structure mapping, and computational modeling — and found that the field has advanced substantially while remaining at least thirty to forty years from human-scale application. Near-complete connectomes now exist for zebrafish larvae and fruit flies. For humans, the gap is measured in orders of magnitude: human brains contain roughly one hundred billion neurons; current technology can simultaneously monitor thousands.The deeper problem is not scale but continuity. Even if a complete brain scan were possible, the "continuity problem" remains unresolved: would the entity instantiated on a new substrate be the original person, or a copy who merely believes they are? This is precisely the philosophical question Brontë staged in her novel, and precisely the question that makes Heathcliff's project horrifying rather than tender. He is attempting a transfer whose success cannot be verified from the inside.What Is the Real Science Behind Haunted Houses?Lockwood's trajectory in the film — progressive illness, delusion, altered perception — maps onto a well-documented real-world phenomenon that psychologists and neuroscientists have studied with increasing rigor. [...]Gothic Literature as Cultural Technology: Why Brontë Wrote This Story in 1847The literary scholar Jerrold E. Hogle, in the Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction, identifies a defining structural feature of the genre: the depiction of horrifying events in Gothic fiction "often serves as a metaphorical expression of psychological or social conflicts." Gothic is not escapism. It is the cultural form human societies have repeatedly reached for when they need to express something that cannot be stated in ordinary social registers.Ellen Moers coined the term "Female Gothic" in her 1976 study Literary Women, specifically identifying Brontë's Wuthering Heights as a prime example of Gothic fiction deployed to give form to female experience that Victorian propriety made unspeakable. Moers argued that Catherine's love for Heathcliff should be understood as an expression of pre-adolescent freedom and erotic attachment that the social architecture of 19th-century England had no legitimate channel for. The Gothic frame is what allowed Brontë to depict this love at all — and to show its consequences — without either endorsing or condemning it. The horror is the form the truth takes.Emily Brontë wrote her novel under the pseudonym Ellis Bell — a woman writing in an era when female authorship faced institutional skepticism — and the Yorkshire moors she depicted were her actual environment, not metaphor. Scholar Carol Senf has argued that Gothic literature "was a counterbalance produced by writers and thinkers who felt limited by [a confident rationalist worldview] and recognized that the power of the past, the irrational, and the violent continue to sway in the world."House of the Damned sits within a contemporary tradition that film scholar David Church, in Post-Horror: Art, Genre and Cultural Elevation, describes as merging "art-cinema style with decentered genre tropes, privileging lingering dread and visual restraint over audiovisual shocks and monstrous disgust" — though ScaryContent's own "Gowns and Gore" branding suggests a franker relationship with spectacle. The production company describes its slate as the systematic literalization of the darkest energies inside canonical 19th-century novels. House of the Damned is the argument that what was always inside Brontë was horror — that the Gothic frame was not decoration but container, and that the film is showing what happens when you take the lid off.The film was produced in the Yorkshire region near the actual moorland landscape that inspired Brontë — a production choice that activates what theorists of place call geopoetic memory: a site-specific emotional charge accumulated through repeated cultural inscription. Filming on these moors does not merely provide scenic authenticity. It claims the location's cultural inheritance. [...]Is Wuthering Heights Actually a Horror Story?This question has a serious scholarly answer. Feminist critic Ellen Moers specifically noted in her foundational analysis that the novel's early readers were struck by what The Athenaeum called "shocking pictures of the worst forms of humanity" and details of "cruelty, inhumanity, and the most diabolical hate and vengeance." Charlotte Brontë, in her posthumous 1850 preface to her sister's novel, asked apologetically: "Whether it is right or advisable to create things like Heathcliff, I do not know."The Gothic genre, as classified in the Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction, is characterized precisely by "an environment of fear, the threat of supernatural events, and the intrusion of the past upon the present" — all features of Brontë's novel. The word "wuthering" is etymologically a weather-descriptor: the house itself is defined by atmospheric violence. The ghost of Catherine appears in Chapter 3. Heathcliff's obsession leads to neglect, abuse, and multiple deaths across two generations. What House of the Damned does is answer the Gothic's central withheld question — is the supernatural real? — in a way Brontë deliberately refused to answer. It is not a corruption of the novel. It is a choice to close what Brontë left open. (Maxwell Templeton)
Literature CambridgeJoin us for a season of six lectures and seminars, live online, on the writings of three great English writers of the early nineteenth century: Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë. We study four of their powerful novels, plus the poetry of Emily Brontë and a selection of the extraordinary childhood writings of the sisters and their brother Branwell. You can book as many individual lectures as you like, or you can book the whole season at a discount. This offer closes on 4 September 2026, before the Season starts.Monthly, Saturdays, 5 September 2026 to 13 March 202718.00-20.00 British Time19.00-21.00 Central European TimeMorning or Lunchtime in the AmericasLectures• Saturday 5 Sept. 2026. Kate Eliot, Juvenilia of the Brontës• Saturday 3 Oct. 2026. Trudi Tate, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (1847)• Saturday 7 Nov. 2026. Greta Colombani, The Poetry of Emily Brontë• Saturday 9 January 2027. Clare Walker Gore, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)• Saturday 13 February 2027. Corinna Russell, Charlotte Brontë, Villette (1853)• Saturday 13 March 2027. Alison Hennegan, Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Worthing’s Conn Artists once again confirm themselves as a theatrical force be reckoned with, this time with a deeply-impressive stage adaptation of Jane Eyre, directed by Nick Young and produced by Ross Muir who is also our Rochester.So assured, so confident, so natural were the performances that it was difficult to believe that this was the very first night of the tour that we were watching.And equally, at the end, it was difficult to believe that we had seen just five actors, so completely and so distinctly did they inhabit the vast array of roles across the evening.But perhaps most impressive of all was the fluency of the production, a piece of storytelling which beautifully captured the essence of the novel and flowed undeflected until it had delivered it whole – not just the darkness, the cruelty and the damage, but also the lightness and the humour.This was a night of traditional Conn Artists work, with all their hallmarks, the use of music, a simple set, highly-effective multi-roling, the adaptation of a great classic – all woven together to excellent effect.Our Jane tonight was Evie Depledge, and it was a remarkable performance she gave, offering us Jane’s vulnerability but more importantly, the sheer strength of her spirit – the little girl who endures such viciousness and cruelty and yet who answers back so forthrightly, ditto the young woman who learns to love but does so on her own terms, always according to her sense of what is right and just.Opposite her was company founder and tonight’s producer Ross Muir as Rochester. Muir rightly gave us Rochester as a complex and difficult man, damaged and so wrong in so much of what he does, but also a man who starts to see the light and sense just what his life could be. It’s a very finely judged performance.And around Depledge and Muir (who multi-roles to an extent), the others create the rest of Jane Eyre’s world.Janna Fox shifts beautifully from Mrs Reed to Mrs Fairfax to Miss Ingram; Erin Maria Walther breaks your heart as Helen and then delights as Adele; Edward Smith is variously the ghastly Mr Brocklehurst and the high-minded St John Rivers.Put it all together and it’s a terrific evening at the theatre which is about to go far and wide on a major tour – including that crucial home date in Worthing (Thursday-Friday, October 8-9) (Phil Hewitt)
by Lama Alsulaiman, King Saud UniversityAWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 10. Number 3. August 2026Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Giver by Lois Lowry represent characteristics of comingof-age novels, or bildungsromans, in which the protagonists evolve within seemingly idealistic yet highly dominating, emotionally repressive societies. The protagonists of these novels develop their moral identities by actively engaging with their memories. Jane reflects on her personal memories while Jonas internalizes and examines collective memories that are forbidden to other citizens by societal authorities. Accordingly, by comparing the two protagonists' coming-of-age stories, this article aims to illustrate how memories, whether lived or passed on, can play a transformative role in the protagonists' gradual moral growth by reconstructing their internalized morality that Freud conceptualizes as the superego. The significance of this study lies in the new comparative perspective it offers on these two works from different literary periods and genres, underscoring the shared psychological role of memory in the process of moral development. This study answers the question: How can individual and collective memories contribute to reshaping the superego in these two novels? This article utilizes memory studies and employs Freud's construct of the superego as its psychoanalytic lens to demonstrate how and why the protagonists alter their socially imposed mindsets after encountering memories that foster moral growth. The analysis concludes that, in both novels, memory functions as a reconstructive mechanism that integrates emotion with moral consciousness through personal reflection on recollected experiences, releasing repressed emotions and resulting in moral autonomy.
Here’s a reimagining you didn’t know you needed (or maybe still don’t). Saban Films has released a trailer this morning for Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned, based on the classic novel by Emily Brontë.No, really. If you didn’t think Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights earlier this year was enough of its own horror movie, this reimagining has you covered. It turns the “romance” story on its head, transforming it into what looks like a pretty generic ghost story.Here’s the official synopsis: Mr. Lockwood arrives at the remote and storm battered Wuthering Heights, unaware that Catherine’s vengeful ghost walks its halls. Her obsessed lover, Heathcliff, feeds her blood lust with human sacrifice, hoping to give her soul a new body to inhabit. As Lockwood grows sick and delusional, he is drawn deeper into their deadly, undying love, and must escape before he becomes their next victim.Ross Townsend-Green, Sky Cheema, Elle O’Hara, and Nicola Wright star.Rebecca J. Matthews (A Woman Scorned) directed from a script by Liana Failla.Enter Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned when the film releases on VOD and Digital October 16th via Saban Films. (Matt Konopka)
5 'Wuthering Heights' (1847)People have been alarmed and challenged by Wuthering Heights for almost 180 years now, and that’s kind of great. Admittedly, the most recent movie adaptation is what caused the most Wuthering Heights-related drama in living memory, but it’s easy to imagine this book causing a stir – and feeling like a shock to the system – when read back in the 1800s. Even throughout much of the 20th century, Wuthering Heights would've felt like a lot. And today… maybe still a bit, to be honest.It’s easy to be taken off-guard if you're after some kind of sweeping romance, because the book really isn't that. There is passion, and some people who believe they're in love, but also, so many dysfunctional characters defined by traumatic pasts, and much more by way of tragedies that happen than moments of romance or passion. It’s a dark, borderline-horror novel at times, and it’s a bit like Frankenstein in that adaptations can be interesting, or even good, but there is something unable to be captured in a different medium, no matter how skilled the filmmaker might be. You just have to find time to read Emily Brontë’s original story the way you need to find time to, one day, read the entirety of Frankenstein’s original text. (Jeremy Urquhart)
by Kate GreenwoodHarperNorthISBN:August 27, 2026A beautiful collection of daily quotes from the Brontës.From the wild, windswept moors of Yorkshire emerged three sisters whose writing would change the literary world: Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. Fearless in their vision, they gave us some of the most passionately feminist and deliciously gothic literature ever written – works that continue to captivate, challenge and inspire.This charming collection gathers their most enduring words across novels, poems and letters, offering 365 daily reflections on love, life and literature.Complete with an illustration for each month, this is the perfect gift to add a touch of Brontë brilliance to each day.
The little OPERA theatre of ny (LOTNY) will present Wuthering Heights, an opera by Carlisle Floyd after the novel by Emily Brontë, from November 19-22 at the Loreto Theater, Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, 18 Bleecker St, New York, NY, 10012. [...]Wuthering Heights, an opera by Carlisle Floyd after the novel by Emily Brontë, is the iconic story of Cathy and Heathcliff, whose bond in childhood grows into an unbreakable love, set against the raw landscape of the Yorkshire Moors. Their attempt to reform their interior nature and conform to society's expectations of them ends in tragedy for them and the people around them.American composer Carlisle Floyd's setting of the story has not been seen in NYC since its premiere in 1959, when it was presented by the New York City Opera. (Stephi Wild)
Tickets will go on sale September 9. For further details and ticket information visit https://www.lotny.org/wuthering-heights. To reach the Box Office by phone, please call (212) 219-3132. (Nicole Rosky)
Conn Artist Theatre Company presentsAdapted by Nick Young and Ross MuirDirected by Nick YoungOrphaned…Oppressed…Unbreakable.Jane Eyre’s fight for freedom, happiness and a sense of belonging, blazes from the cruelty of her childhood to the creepy corridors of Thornfield Hall, where she discovers passion, dark secrets, and a love that overcomes every obstacle.Charlotte Brontë’s gothic romance, swept against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, with a haunting atmosphere and unforgettable emotion, tells a story of independence, resilience, and the courage to follow one’s heart.Thrillingly brought to life in a new staging by Conn Artists Theatre Company, following on from their recent adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd, and performed with an ensemble cast of five actors with original music and songs.
UK Tour Dates:
| Date/s | Time/s | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 2nd – Thu 3rd Sep 2026 | 19:30 & 14:00 (Thurs only) | Theatre Royal Winchester |
| Fri 4th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | The Princess Theatre, Burnham-on-Sea |
| Sat 5th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa |
| Wed 9th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Marina Theatre, Lowestoft |
| Thu 10th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | South Mill Arts, Bishop's Stortford |
| Fri 11th - Sat 12th Sep 2026 | 19:30 & 14:30 (Sat only) | The Theatre, Chipping Norton |
| Tue 15th – Sat 19th Sep 2026 | 19:30 & 14:30 (Thurs & Sat only) | Theatre Royal Windsor |
| Tue 22nd Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Lancaster Grand Theatre |
| Wed 23rd Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Middlesbrough Theatre |
| Thu 24th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Alnwick Playhouse |
| Fri 25th - Sat 26th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Theatre Royal Dumfries |
| Mon 28th Sept 2026 | 19:30 | Bingley Arts Centre |
| Tue 29th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Rotherham Civic Theatre |
| Wed 30th Sep 2026 | 19:30 | Waterside, Sale |
| Thu 1st - Fri 2nd Oct 2026 | 19:30 | The Atkinson, Southport |
| Tue 6th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Chelmsford Theatre Studio |
| Wed 7th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Haverhill Arts Centre |
| Thu 8th - Fri 9th Oct 2026 | 19:30 & 14:00 (Fri only) | Connaught Theatre, Worthing |
| Tue 13th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Epsom Playhouse |
| Thu 15th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot |
| Fri 16th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis |
| Sat 17th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Pavilions Teignmouth |
| Tue 20th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Anthony Minghella Theatre, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight |
| Wed 21st - Thu 22nd Oct 2026 | 19:45 | Wilde Theatre, South Hill Park, Bracknell |
| Fri 23rd Oct 2026 | 19:30 | The Corn Hall, Diss |
| Sat 24th Oct 2026 | 19:30 | Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich |
| Wed 4th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University |
| Thu 5th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Strode Theatre, Somerset |
| Fri 6th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Swindon Arts Centre |
| Sat 7th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Swan Theatre, Worcester |
| Tue 17th - Wed 18th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton |
| Thu 19th - Fri 20th Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Pavilion Arts Centre, Buxton |
| Sat 21st Nov 2026 | 19:30 | Heywood Civic, Heywood |
| Tue 26th - Wed 27th Jan 2027 | 19:30 & 13:30 (Wed only) | The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury |
| Thu 28th Jan 2027 | 19:30 | Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Taunton |
| Fri 29th Jan 2027 | 19:30 | Bryanston School, Dorset |
| Tue 2nd - Wed 3rd Feb 2027 | 19:30 & 13:30 (Wed only) | Towngate Theatre, Basildon |
| Thu 4th - Fri 5th Feb 2027 | 19:30 (Thurs only) & 13:30 (Fri only) | Lighthouse Theatre, Kettering |
| Sat 6th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | The Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames |
| Tue 9th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury |
| Wed 10th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Lichfield Garrick |
| Thu 11th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Darwen Library Theatre |
| Fri 12th - Sat 13th Feb 2027 | TBC | Chesterfield |
| Mon 22nd Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Blackwood Miners' Institute, Caerphilly |
| Tue 23rd - 24th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Aberystwyth Arts Centre / Canolfan Y Celfyddydau |
| 25th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Glowyr, Rhydaman / Ammanford |
| Fri 26th Feb 2027 | 19:30 | Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe |
| Tue 2nd Mar 2027 | 19:30 | The Radlett Centre, Radlett, Herts |
| Wed 3rd - Thu 4th Mar 2027 | 19:30 & 13:30 (Thurs only) | Key Theatre, Peterborough |
| Tue 9th - Wed 10th Mar 2027 | 19:30 & 14:00 (Wed only) | CAST, Doncaster |
| Thu 11th Mar 2027 | 19:30 | Theatre Royal, Wakefield |
| Sat 13th Mar 2027 | 19:30 | Sarah Thorne Theatre, Broadstairs |
In England, such itineraries can take visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare; Jane Austen's house in Chawton; or the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, associated with the three Brontë sisters.
by Lilia HassaineÉditions Gallimard. Collection BlancheISBN 9782073099945August 20, 2026« — Que savez-vous de la beauté, Antoinette ?Il se tourna vers moi, suspendu à ma réponse.— Pas grand-chose. Mais je sais la reconnaître quand elle est là.— Eh bien moi, chaque fois que je la vois, elle me blesse.Quand je vois votre visage, par exemple, quelque chose en moi se trouve comme ébranlé. »Île de la Jamaïque, 1831. Antoinette Cosway, créole de bonne famille, s’éprend d’Edward Rochester, un Anglais aussi impénétrable que fascinant. Mais à la séduction enflammée succèdent rapidement des scènes vénéneuses, où les baisers sont des blessures, où toute une société livre la jeune femme à son bourreau.Des années plus tard, Antoinette tente de conquérir sa propre histoire.JE se situe à mi-chemin entre roman victorien et thriller intimiste contemporain. Lilia Hassaine s’est inspirée du personnage de la première femme de Rochester dans Jane Eyre, le roman culte de Charlotte Brontë. Elle a choisi de lui donner une voix, un corps, une destinée.
Dans La Prisonnière des Sargasses (1966), la romancière Jean Rhys remontait aux origines de cette folie en retraçant l’enfance créole de Bertha qui, avant d’être rebaptisée par Rochester « comme on change le nom d’une bête à l’achat ou l’étiquette d’une malle », se prénommait Antoinette. C’est dans la lignée de ces deux précédents romans que Lilia Hassaine inscrit le sien, Je, imaginant cette « histoire pas encore entendue » de la rencontre entre Antoinette et Rochester, de leur mariage et de leur départ de la Jamaïque pour l’Angleterre. Une histoire que l’autrice rend à son héroïne après qu’elle lui a été méthodiquement confisquée, en la faisant s’exprimer à la première personne. (...)Assumant un regard post-Me Too, l’écrivaine démontre, à l’instar de ses précédents romans, combien l’intime est politique et révèle la structure sous-jacente de sociétés qui, plutôt que de protéger les victimes, participent à leur enfermement. Beau et glaçant à la fois, Je est de ces livres précieux qui dessillent et invitent à regarder ce qu’on tentait d’ignorer. (Laetitia Favro)
Dans “Je”, l’écrivaine revisite le roman de Charlotte Brontë en donnant voix à l’épouse séquestrée d’Edward Rochester. À travers sa version de l’histoire se dessine une évocation subtile du gaslighting et des violences faites aux femmes. (...)Dans Je, Lilia Hassaine — dont c’est le quatrième opus, après L’Œil du paon, Soleil amer et Panorama — se saisit aujourd’hui à son tour du personnage de Bertha, née Mason — la première épouse, réputée « démente » et enragée, d’Edward Rochester, qui la maintenait enfermée dans le grenier du manoir de Thornfield Hall —, pour en faire la narratrice de son roman. Lui redonnant son prénom de jeune fille, Antoinette — et le patronyme que lui avait choisi Jean Rhys, à savoir Cosway. Surtout, lui rendant une voix et une subjectivité : c’est elle qui dit « je », d’un bout à l’autre de cette confession — dont on ne connaîtra qu’aux ultimes pages du livre le destinataire. (Nathalie Crom)
Marie-Laure Delorme: Quel est votre rapport à “Jane Eyre”, de Charlotte Brontë ?L.H.: Quand j’ai découvert “Jane Eyre”, à l’adolescence, j’ai lu exactement ce que je devais lire : une histoire romantique et gothique entre une gouvernante et un homme plus âgé. Jane Eyre va découvrir qu’Edward Rochester est déjà marié et que son épouse, Antoinette Cosway, est enfermée au grenier depuis dix ans. À l’époque, je trouvais ces personnages ténébreux et tumultueux. Je me disais : qui ne possède pas ses zones d’ombre ? Je n’avais pas vu la violence des situations. On est au début du XIXe siècle. Antoinette Cosway n’est pas soignée dans un asile, mais enfermée chez un homme. Il y a peu de temps, j’ai relu le roman. J’ai alors retrouvé avec Edward Rochester des événements que j’avais déjà personnellement vécus, et le destin d’Antoinette Cosway a pris toute la place. (...)ML.D.:“JE” n’est-il pas aussi un roman sur le langage ?L.H.: Au cœur de “JE”, une question : de quoi parle-t-on ? À chaque instant, l’homme utilise ce que la femme dit. Un geste ou une parole ont, selon le contexte, une portée tout à fait différente. J’ai voulu entrer dans un caractère et une maison pour montrer combien tout est subtil et ambigu. On pose un regard de biais et on voit autre chose. Le personnage d’Edward Rochester peut apparaître attirant par certains aspects. Il y a un trouble. Mais la violence est là : Edward Rochester amène Antoinette Cosway à jouer contre elle-même. J’ai terminé “JE” en me sentant physiquement mal.ML.D.: Le “JE” du titre, allusion aux initiales de “Jane Eyre”, a-t-il un double sens : Antoinette Cosway reprend la main sur son histoire et vous racontez aussi la vôtre à travers la fiction ?L.H.: Je n’écris pas pour rien. Il y a un jeu entre fiction et autofiction. Je n’aurais pas pu écrire “JE” si je n’avais pas personnellement vécu certaines des situations que je raconte. Mes romans sont toujours liés à des raisons intimes et profondes. Je me lance dans l’écriture car j’ai quelque chose à démêler en moi. “Panorama” venait de la rupture entre la société et l’institution judiciaire, et “JE” est né du silence de la société face aux violences faites aux enfants et aux femmes. Mais si j’ai choisi la forme romanesque, c’est parce que je voulais que tout se mélange : ce qui vient du réel, ce que j’ai transposé, ce que j’ai imaginé. Je ne tiens pas à ce que l’on distingue la part fictionnelle de la part autobiographique. Il y a un trouble du côté des personnages, mais aussi du côté du genre littéraire. “JE” est une fiction vraie. Je ne sépare pas le roman de la vérité. Chacun des sentiments a été éprouvé, vécu, ressenti. Il ne s’agit pas du pastiche d’un roman victorien, mais d’une histoire contemporaine. Rochester a traversé toutes les époques.
The birthplace of world-famous literary sisters Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë is to open to the public, alongside a walking tour and exhibition.The Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, Bradford, will be free to visitors on 13 September as part of the national Heritage Open Days scheme.An exhibition at the home on Market Road will explore the history of the building, and what happened after the literary sisters left their birthplace in Thornton to move to the Haworth Parsonage in 1820.There will also be a free walking tour of Thornton on 19 September to share the "forgotten chapter in the Brontë story", according to the Brontë Birthplace.Vice Chair of the Brontë Birthplace Thomas Haigh said the building "enjoyed a rich history" after the family's departure."We want to share this 200-year story with our visitors as well as showcase the challenges, discoveries and community effort behind the restoration and how this remarkable building continues to evolve and serve a new generation of visitors," he said.The exhibition will feature photographs, building plans and residents' memories of their time in the house, which has also been a butcher's shop and cafe.Led by local historian Paul Crossley, the two-hour tour will begin at the Brontë Birthplace and includes the Brontë Bell Chapel ruins, Kipping House and South Square Centre.Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture which takes place annually in September. (Grace Wood)
and “Dying for You” and “House” from the Wuthering Heights soundtrack went even further in summoning a brooding, intense atmosphere. Not what you expect from a festival headliner, but certainly not unwelcome, either. (Thomas Smith)
featuring three totemic males of music, fashion and film: John Cale (whose disembodied voice heralds a tense rendition of their claustrophobic duet, House), Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorsese. Pretentious? Just a bit. But Nietzsche, I reckon, would have got on board with it – Charli’s current pop era is basically a cosmic battle between her ego and her vulnerabilities, all watched over by serious Big Dick Energy. (Chal Ravens)
The set really comes alive after ‘House’, when John Cale’s recorded voice booms out of the PA over black screens, before Charli re-enters the fray for her part of the Wuthering Heights song, crawling across one of the platforms as lights flash artfully around her. As sparks fall from the roof and fire bursts up in the background, it passes the baton to ‘Dying For You’, that soundtrack album’s far poppier cut, before she leans into ‘Brat’ with a megamix that ends with underwear shooting into the sky at the end of ‘Guess’. (Rhian Daly)
by Özlem Recebli̇Proceedings of the 5th International Congress of Language and Translation Studies(Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey, alongside the Azerbaijan University of LanguagesSeptember 24–26, 2025), pp 626Wide Sargasso Sea, written by Jean Rhys in 1966. It is the rewriting of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. The main character Antoinette grows up in a troubled environment marked by racial tensions and the aftermath of slavery. She and her family struggle with financial instability and social isolation. Also, Antoinette feels increasingly alienated from both the black and white communities around her. After her father’s death she and her mother Annette eventually marry foreign men. However, their relationships become strained due to cultural misunderstandings, and the reader sees kind a madwoman in the attic figure. In this context, this paper aims to analyse main character’s mother Annette's and main character Antoinette's change before and after their marriages to their husbands in the context of how migration, race, and class influence notions of love and emotions in the light of Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s ideas, particularly her critique of the homogenization of “Third World women” and the “Western feminist gaze”. The analysis will also explore the novel through the lens of the politics of location using the Caren Kaplan’s and Adrianne Rich’s ideas. Also, the paper aims to address the themes of madness, loneliness and migration interpreting Antoinette’s and Annette’s mental decline as a result of intersectional forces such as race, gender, class, and colonial displacement, echoing the insights of scholars likeEleanor Wilkinson and Denise Brennan. By examining how migration, race, and class influence notions of love and emotions, this paper underscores the importance of amplifying marginalized voices, regardless of the often painful or unjust conclusions of their stories.
More or less a reenactment of the Brontë novel, the piece focuses on four fans, well, three and a woman dropped off by her boyfriend because she has the same name as the protagonist, even if spelt differently. As they act out Jane Eyre, they learn about how the book is viewed today, but also its influences on their lives. The cast gel well together, never overshadowing each other and having their distinguishable personalities. But it does have to be said that Eleanor Zeal and Ben Everett Riley stand out as a true highlight, at times almost squabbling to the extent of mother and son.There isn’t much substance to the piece outside of Jane Eyre, we learn little things here and there but never overtakes the performance of the book. I didn’t really know anything about Jane Eyre going into this show and felt like it was explained well without ever going into high school English territory. The piece might have benefitted by a little more physicality or bringing some more comedy, as there were jokes here and there but I did struggle to tell if people were laughing or not.Jane Eyre Convention is an exciting way to learn the story written by Charlotte Brontë without ever diverging off into other plots. You will leave wanting to dawn a bonnet and run through the moors, before heading home for shortbread and a cup of Yorkshire tea. (Kerry)
Catch the UK premiere of a musical adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre, at Southwark Playhouse Elephant. We're promised the chance to "see Jane, the first feminist literary icon, like you never have before" accompanied by a powerful musical score. 28 August-24 October 2026
Who do you play in Jane Eyre?I play two roles in the show: Brocklehurst, who is head of the school that young Jane [attends], as she leaves her home and begins her journey. He shapes the structure that society is asking young Jane to conform to, which later in the show she gets to break away from. He’s this towering inferno of a person. I also play Mason, who is Rochester’s friend and the brother of someone who I’m not going to mention now, as I don’t want to give away any spoilers! When we first meet him, he seems to be this nice, jovial soul, but later in the show he has a moment that shakes things up completely. I’m looking forward to that moment, and I think [writer] John Caird might actually have to keep a lid on some of the drama that I want to put into it!Why do you think the novel works as a musical?Jane is the protagonist but also the narrator of the piece. The ensemble, as well as Charlie [Burn, who plays adult Jane], are all the voice of Jane Eyre. So there are parts where the narrative is told by myself, or by somebody else. It really gets the audience to sit in as the character of Jane and go on that journey with her. The book is written from Jane’s point of view, so we can all be Jane and experience these things that happen in her life. [...]If you could give a character in the show one piece of advice, what would it be?Run, Jane, run! (Olivia Rook)
Everyone loves a good period piece, and there's something to be said about the romance and whimsy of Jane Eyre-style period stories in particular. But while these tales are often lofty and low-stakes, A24's Victorian Psycho (2026) puts a twist on that you have to see to believe. (Nicholas Brooks)
The second act of the performance showcased the breadth of her work, as she moved from pop hit Track 10 from her 2017 mixtape, to the melancholic tones of House, which she co-wrote for the recent Wuthering Heights soundtrack album. (Naomi Clarke)
Talking Shadows Company presentsby Rebecca VinesThe Space on the Mile, Aug 24-29 12:35 (50 mins)A vivid exploration of how three sheltered young women from a remote Yorkshire parsonage created some of the most raw, violent and passionate literary works of all time. Charlotte: the ambitious dreamer. Emily: the intense loner. Anne: the gentle, would-be social reformer. And their brother Branwell: the brilliant "lost" boy whose disappointments served only to highlight the extraordinary success of his sisters.
An exhibition at the birthplace will delve into the building’s past, tracing its journey through a butcher’s shop, visitor attraction, café, and a community-owned heritage site.Thomas Haigh, vice chair and marketing and audience development lead at the Brontë Birthplace, said: "While the Brontë Birthplace will always be significant for being the first home of Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell, we know it enjoyed a rich history after their departure."We want to share this 200-year story with our visitors as well as showcase the challenges, discoveries, and community effort behind the restoration and how this remarkable building continues to evolve and serve a new generation of visitors."The exhibition will feature photographs, plans, memories, and other artefacts that reveal the many lives of the building since the Brontë family lived there.A free walking tour of Thornton will also be offered as part of the Heritage Open Days programme.Led by local historian and Brontë family expert Paul Crossley, the two-hour tour will begin at the birthplace and take visitors to key sites including the Brontë Bell Chapel ruins, Kipping House, South Square Centre, and the village’s historic snickets and ginnels.The tour concludes at the Brontë Birthplace, where visitors can enjoy the café, browse the gift shop, or book a house tour. (...)The Brontë Birthplace exhibition will be open from 11am to 4pm on Sunday, September 13, with Mr Haigh available to answer questions from visitors.The walking tour will take place on Saturday, September 19, starting at 11am.Both events are free to attend. (Harry Williams)
Perhaps the production's most distinctive feature is its ensemble-led approach.Rather than relying solely on Jane to narrate her own story, the entire company shares responsibility for carrying her voice throughout the performance.It is an imaginative theatrical device that preserves the novel's first-person perspective while embracing the collaborative nature of live theatre.
However, having returned to it again, it has been a really good read and one that was unexpectedly so, delivering with its dialogue and its quirkiness as well as educating me a lot more about Charlotte Brontë.Sara is a research student whose specialism is Charlotte Brontë and in life, she is pretty certain that she knows where it's heading: she's going to get married to Paul and honeymoon in Paris and then, she's going to continue her research study and find undiscovered letters written by Charlotte which will propel her into the academic stratosphere. (Rachel Deeming)
El caballero y la polilla de la superventas Rachel Gillig. Un libro de fantasía oscura y romance que toma referencias de Jane Eyre y Juego de tronos. Una joven clarividente atrapada en una catedral y un caballero grosero, atractivo y sin respeto por las profecías. (Translation)
Yorkshire town where the Brontë family lived.
CALL FOR PAPERS! 📝We're inviting proposals for papers on The Brontës and the Supernatural for a one day, in-person symposium in Haworth. 👻This symposium seeks to broaden the parameters of Gothic scholarship on the Brontës by exploring the diverse supernatural traditions, beliefs and cultural narratives that informed the family’s imaginative and everyday worlds. We welcome new and original symposium paper proposals from academics, postgraduates and enthusiasts on topics that have perhaps received less attention.Proposals (of no more than 300 words) for 20-minute papers should be submitted to bronte@bronte.org.uk with the subject 'Symposium' by 31 December 2026.
Adam Blanshay Productions and David & Hannah Mirvish presentMusic and Lyrics by Paul GordonBook and Additional Lyrics by John CairdCo-Directed by John Caird and Megan McGinnisGeorgina Lamb, ChoreographerJames Whiteside, Lighting DesignerSouthwark Playhouse - Elephant28 Aug - 24 Oct 2026WithCharlie Burn as JaneAshley Gilmour as RochesterClaire Greenway as Abbot / Grace PooleMelad Hamidi as St John / Lord IngramJonathan Andrew Hume as Brocklehurst / MasonIzzi Levine as Agnes / Leah / Jane’s Mother / Mary IngramHannah Lindsey as Scatcherd / Bertha MasonIsabelle Methven as Helen Burns / BessieGemma Page as Reed / FairfaxEve Shanu-Wilson as Blanche / SophieConnor Wood as John Reed / VicarPoppy Jason as Young Jane / AdeleEmily-Rose Samuel as Young Jane / AdeleThe iconic tale reimagined for its UK premiere.“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”This five-time Tony nominated musical retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s revolutionary novel makes its UK premiere.A story of ambition and independence, gothic mystery and great passionate love, Jane Eyre has enchanted generations and is brought into the 21st century with this new production.Accompanied by an epic sweeping score, prepare to see Jane, the first feminist literary icon, like you never have before.Co-directed by John Caird, best known for international hit Les Misérables, and Broadway veteran Megan McGinnis, with music by Daddy Long Legs’ Paul Gordon.
If you’ve ever wondered what it may be like to party with the Brontё sisters, get ready to sip on a lot of cordials, margaritas, and rosè and experience an evening like no other at Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party. Join Emily (Leah Ly), Charlotte (Aubri O’Connor), and Anne (Rose Hahn) Brontё, alongside their brother Branwell (Ty Edwards) and some other very special guests, as they throw yet another house party that they hope will help them escape the Purgatorial time loop in which they are trapped.Many, many years after their untimely deaths, the Brontё sisters have found themselves stuck in Purgatory by the Lavender Witch of Gondol (a creation from their own imaginations), which requires them to throw a party every single night until they are able to reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence; except they don’t know what that requires, or do they? In order to gain approval from the Lavender Witch of Gondol, the Brontёs turn to some special guests to to keep their party attendees entertained: Wuthering Heights’ Cathy (Brenna Horner), Jane Eyre’s Helen Burns (Alyssa Nolan), and famed English singer Kate Bush (Madeline Marie). Through a wide variety of musical numbers, their stories are told (and hopefully earn audience approval) and the complexities of everyone’s lives are exposed. Do they ever make it out of this time loop? You’ll just have to see for yourselves!Charlotte’s (Aubri O’Connor) expectations of perfection and anxiety surrounding the party are palpable. O’Connor’s portrayal of the eldest sister is brilliant and because of this, I was able to empathize with her desire to protect her sisters, reconnect with her love, and remain optimistic that this time loop will eventually end. I commend O’Connor for her raw emotion and dedication to the role - it is a performance that has left an impression on me.In contrast to Charlotte’s range of emotion, Emily (Leah Ly) is pessimistic and remains that way through most of the show, even though she may know the way out. Whether that level of pessimism was the original intention or not, Ly’s performance remains at one level - always a bit mopey and apathetic. More depth to Emily’s character would have been an added bonus to this production. (...)Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party is a fun night out and a great way to spend an evening in this last part of summer. There are a variety of special performances coming up, including a free performance on September 8th during Art All Night sponsored by Van Ness Main Street, and they are all worth checking out. I’m eager to see what else Nu Sass Productions has in store this year! (Abby Korb)
Walking in Brontë country on the Moors above Haworth is like walking in one of the famous sisters’ novels.But the landscape that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, a story revived in the latest Hollywood film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is under threat, according to some local residents.Thirty-four wind turbines, each one standing at 200 metres tall, are being planned for construction on Crow Hill on the Moors here.Nick Makinnon’s home sits on part of the Brontë walk, taking in the stunning views of the dramatic scenery.He is among a large group in the surrounding area who are campaigning against these plans.“It’s a special protection area for enlisted birds, it’s a conservation area and it’s the inspiration for the Brontë sisters” Nick explained. “So on those three axes, it’s the worst site in England.”A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Our assessment work to date concludes that Top Withens (the farmhouse that inspired Wuthering Heights) and its Brontë associations would remain intact, with no harm to its heritage significance.“The nearest turbine would be more than 800 metres away and positioned beyond intervening landform, limiting its prominence in views from the site.”To that, Nick said this goes much deeper…literally.“Amazingly, there’s only one site in England where you get a peat landslide known as a ‘bog burst’, where the bog explodes under pressure.” Nick pointed out.“The only place it happens in England is on Crow Hill. The developers of the Wind Farm have very recently decided it needs to go over that area.”In response to Nick's comments, a spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Detailed peat, ground condition and stability assessments are ongoing, and the findings will inform the project's final design.“The design has already evolved through two stages of peat probing and hydrological surveys, moving infrastructure away from deeper peat and adjusting track alignments to follow shallower corridors, with floating tracks proposed in suitable locations to avoid cutting into peat altogether.”Around 80,000 visitors come to the area each year, many wanting to see the history of the Brontës.Rebecca Yorke, the Director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said if this energy park were to go ahead, it would “change the landscape forever".“It would be very mercenary to say it would have an impact on tourism; we don’t know if it would stop people coming here,” she said.“But what we do know is that their experience would be very different. That landscape would not be the same, the wildlife wouldn’t be there."To walk those moors is like walking in the Brontës' imagination. You can’t separate the landscape from their writing.” (Alex Taylor-Brown)
Wide Sargasso Sea feels like it’s in conversation with Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica. He goes off on white women in the Caribbean. How the white woman is this feral creature, she may be tainted, possibly insane, certainly full of wanton lust. My theory is that Charlotte Brontë read it, and hence we get the madwoman in the attic, who’s from Jamaica. Brontë wouldn’t have known a thing about Jamaica. Her only source would have been written material, and the only written material I know of from that period would be Edward Long’s History.So if you’re Jean Rhys, not only are your characters these women, but you’re also that woman. And I think she felt driven to give that woman a voice and agency. People think she only did that in Voyage in the Dark or Wide Sargasso Sea, but she did it in all her books. (Nick Hilden)
Music and Lyrics by Paul GordonBooks and Additional Lyrics by John CairdLone Star College - Tomball Campus - Performing Arts CenterAugust 27, 28, and 29, 2026, 7:00 PMAugust 29 2:00PMThe epic story of Jane Eyre, told alongside a gorgeous musical score, is on the Lone Star College - Tomball stage starting August 27 - 29! We’d love for the Tomball community to come on out and enjoy a remarkable evening.Jane Eyre tells the story of an orphaned child who, after experiencing great adversity, comes face-to-face with the power of forgiveness. Through many colorful characters and incredible writing, the audience journeys with her and is the ultimate witness to the transformational power of friendship and real love. This larger-than-life story will be performed by members of the LSC-Tomball Artist Development program alongside members of the Tomball community.
1. This production has been decades in the makingFor producer Adam, bringing Jane Eyre to the UK is much more than another production.Having first fallen in love with the musical as a young theatre fan in Toronto before seeing it on Broadway, he spent years hoping to one day help bring it to British audiences.That passion was evident from the moment he welcomed the media into rehearsals, making it clear this is very much a labour of love.2. Jane's voice belongs to the whole companyPerhaps the most fascinating creative decision is the production's ensemble-led approach.Rather than limiting the narration to Jane herself, the entire company shares responsibility for telling her story.As John Caird explained, Charlotte Brontë's novel is written almost entirely from Jane's perspective, and this theatrical device allows that first-person narration to remain central while creating something uniquely suited to the stage.3. Casting wasn't just about finding great singersOne theme emerged repeatedly throughout our conversations.This company wasn't assembled simply because its members have exceptional voices.Co-director Megan McGinnis explained that every performer needed to be an outstanding storyteller capable of carrying both dialogue and music with equal conviction.Watching rehearsals, it quickly became clear why that mattered. Every member of the ensemble contributes to telling Jane's journey.4. The children are central to the storyMany productions might have asked adults to portray Jane as a child.Instead, this production places genuine young performers at the heart of its opening chapters.Emily-Rose Samuel and Poppy Jason share the roles of Young Jane and Adèle, bringing an authenticity that immediately grounds Jane's early experiences.As the creative team explained, seeing Jane's childhood through the eyes of a real child was considered essential to the emotional impact of the story.5. Respecting Charlotte Brontë doesn't mean avoiding changeOne thing became clear throughout the afternoon.Nobody involved is trying to recreate Charlotte Brontë's novel word for word.Instead, every creative decision has been made with the same goal: preserving the heart of Jane Eyre while allowing musical theatre to tell the story in its own language.Whether through the ensemble narration, the intimate staging or the symbolic design, this production appears determined to honour the novel while embracing everything theatre can uniquely offer.
Victorian Psycho is an odd film that I never really felt knew how funny, tonally offbeat, or scary it wanted to be. There’s a commitment from the cast to make this ‘Norman Bates’ crossed with Jane Eyre work, but instead of a successful transfusion of genre, it’s just a bit odd. (Dylan Blight)
Hundreds flocked to Plas Newydd, Llangollen, on June 20, to take part in The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.Organised by Moira Gleed and her daughter Rowen, attendees donned red dresses and outfits after Kate Bush’s iconic look in the Wuthering Heights 1978 music video to learn and record the song’s dance routine.The event was open to those of all experience and the practice in the morning was led by two local choreographers: Karen Lyon and Sarah Bright.We’ve recently caught up with Moira Gleed to chat about her experience of this event.250 tickets were sold, and they sold out within days of being advertised. Moira said she’d never have dreamt such a fantastic opening.“It exceeded expectations, exceeded hope.”
Unless explicitly said
